Brown swam a 50m backstroke time of 31.94sec at an open meeting in Corby, which is a British National Youth qualifying standard time.

Now her coach Greg Masters says she needs to put in more hard work to go faster.

“Hannah’s achievement is excellent,” he said. “She has worked very hard to gain this time, in particular by swimming in countless sessions to perfect her technique. But it is very important for Hannah to move forward from her qualifying time by working even harder in training to ensure she is competitive at the national competition.”

Brown’s outstanding time in Corby means she is eligible to compete against the elite of British swimming at the British Gas National Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, in August.

Long-course events are swum in 50m-length pools. The more common 25m-length pools, including the one at the Hudson Leisure Centre where the 15-year-old trains with Wisbech Swimming Club, are regarded as short course.

Brown said: “May has been a fantastic month with personal bests at Luton and Peterborough. These were two of my best weekends in swimming, smashing personal bests, so I felt confident that if I could swim as well at Corby then I could qualify.

“I have been working towards achieving the National standard for over a year – since the 2013 East Region Championships when I first came very close to the National time.

“It is a great feeling to have achieved this standard. I am very close to the National time in 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke as well so I will be working hard to achieve these events also.

“I train at Wisbech four times a week and then at Norwich UEA’s 50m pool once a week. Training is hard but I enjoy every minute of it.”

Long standing members at Wisbech are unsure exactly who the last young Wisbech swimmer to gain a National qualifying time was – but it is thought that Brown is the first to do so in at least two decades of competition. And that is something to be extremely proud of.

One crew and rescue vehicle from Dogsthorpe, along with two Lincolnshire crews from Stamford and Market Deeping, were called to a road traffic collision on the A1 southbound between Carpenters Lodge and Wansford.